Plans to restore Centennial Park gaining momentum

A group helping lead the effort to restore Centennial Park is calling on Nashvillians to contribute to the drafting of the park’s master plan.

The Conservancy for the Parthenon and Centennial Park is holding a community meeting March 9 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the John Seigenthaler First Amendment Center on 18th Avenue.

The nonprofit hopes to solicit input to develop a long-term strategy that transforms Centennial Park into a model of sustainable ecological practice, while preserving some of the key historical elements of the park. Seattle-based landscape architect Gustafson Guthrie Nichol has been hired to carry out the design portion of the plan.

Mayor Karl Dean appointed the Mayor’s Centennial Park Committee in November 2008 to oversee restoration of the park and its various historical monuments and features.

Months earlier, Centennial Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Parthenon, the centerpiece of the park, had been on the National Register since 1972.

The master plan — which will include analyses of existing site facilities and conditions, development and phasing recommendations, and cost estimates — should be completed within the next 10 months.

1 Comment on this post:

By:barb3433 on 2/25/10 at 6:55

Why does it always seem necessary to hire a company from another state to work on projects such as this? We have highly qualified landscaping architecture companies in Tennessee. Why bring in one from Seattle? Tennessean's money should stay in Tennessee unless the skills and talent simply are not available locally. And that simply is not the case in this, and in the majority of other instances.